Apparatus for discontinuous preparation of farinaceous products

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for the discontinuous preparation of farinaceous products such as spaghetti with a portioning apparatus for receiving the farinaceous products, a cooking chamber and a drainage chamber, with the inlet zone and the outlet zone of the cooking chamber and the drainage chamber each being closeable by valves which are arranged as flaps, with a single flap which is rotatable about a rotational axle being provided between the cooking chamber and the drainage chamber, and with the flaps in the inlet zone of the cooking chamber and the outlet zone of the drainage chamber being movable transversally to the inlet zone or the outlet zone.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an apparatus for the discontinuous preparationof farinaceous products such as spaghetti or the like, with a portioningapparatus for receiving the raw farinaceous products, a cooking chamberand a drainage chamber, with the inlet and the outlet of the cookingchamber and the drainage chamber each being closeable by valves whichare arranged as flaps, with a single flap which is rotatable about arotational axle being provided between the cooking chamber and thedrainage chamber, and with the flaps in the inlet zone of the cookingchamber and the outlet zone of the drainage chamber being movabletransversally to the inlet zone or the outlet zone.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Apparatuses for the discontinuous preparation of portioned farinaceousproducts are known in many arrangements. They are used to prepare aportioned quantity of raw farinaceous products in the shortest possibletime and therefore are used in respective automatic machines. Such aknown apparatus is described in WO 90/04345. Raw farinaceous productsdisposed above the cooking chamber are given into the cooking chamber ina portioned way, the cooking chamber is closed and the farinaceousproducts are cooked under a predetermined temperature and under arespective pressure in a relatively short period of time. Thereafter thecooked farinaceous products leave the cooking chamber with the cookingwater and are relieved of the water in an adjacent drainage chamber.Finally, the output is made in a suitable container such as a plate, forexample.

The cooking chamber is closed in its inlet and outlet zone by a ballvalve which on the one hand allows the filling and emptying of thecooking chamber and on the other hand guarantees a secure sealing of thecooking chamber during the cooking process. An a result of therelatively high friction of ball valves, they are highly sluggish andtheir drive therefore requires a certain amount of force, so thatusually pneumatic drives are employed. Ball valves have the additionaldisadvantage that they have a relatively large overall height and thusfurther increase the total height of the aforementioned apparatus.Finally, the use of a ball valve in the outlet zone of the cookingchamber is not optimal, because the (cooked and sensitive) farinaceousproducts can be damaged while passing the ball valve.

Moreover, an apparatus for the discontinuous preparation of portioniedfarinaceous products with the features pursuant to the preamble of claim1 is known from the registered documents of the German utility model G93 17 939. In this known apparatus the flaps are pressed at the end oftheir linear movement by means of a lever gear perpendicular to theopening plane of the respective chamber for closure. The closure of therespective chambers perpendicular to the opening plane has already beenknown for a long period of time, with reference thus being made forexample to the prior publications PCT/IT 86/00063 or PCT/EP 89/00797.

The mode of operation of the apparatus as known from the registereddocuments of the German utility model G 93 17 939.1 shall now beexplained in closer detail by reference to FIG. 7. The apparatussubstantially consists of a cooking chamber 1 with a cooking chamberinlet 1E and a cooking chamber outlet 1A. Above the cooking chamber 1 aportioning apparatus (not shown) is provided for charging the cookingchamber 1. A drainage chamber 2 is situated below the cooking chamber 1,the inlet of which is identical with the cooking chamber outlet 1A. Adrainage chamber outlet 2A is located on the floor of the drainagechamber 2. The cooking chamber 1 can be closed in its inlet zone 1E by alinearly displaceable flap 3 and the outlet zone 2A of the drainagechamber 2 by a linearly displaceable flap 4.

The actual preparation process is as follows: After the portionedquantity of farinaceous products has been filled into the cookingchamber 1, whose outlet zone 1A has been closed, the cooking chamber 1,which is already closed in its lower zone, is closed with the help ofthe linearly displaceable flap 3. Fresh water is supplied to a storagecontainer 8 by a fresh water supply means 5 via a line 6 and an openedshut-off valve 7. From there the water reaches the heating chamber 13via a line 9 by means of a pump 10 through a check valve 11 at apredetermined pressure which can be read from a pressure gauge 12. Theheating chamber 13 encompasses the cooking chamber 1 like a radialclearance. Heating rods 14 are disposed in the intermediate wallsbetween the cooking chamber 1 and the heating chamber 13. Before theactual heating process begins the entire heating chamber 13 is filledwith water and a predetermined amount of water is filled into thecooking chamber 1 by way of a filling line 15 which is equipped with apressure control valve 16. Once the desired water level has been reachedwithin the cooking chamber 1, the shut-off valve 15A in the filling line15 is closed, so that the cooking chamber is shut hermetically. A flap17 which can be pivoted about an axle is used for this purpose in itsoutlet zone 1A.

The overpressure prevailing in the cooking chamber 1 caused by theactual cooking process is reduced by opening the shut-off valve 22disposed in a pressure relief line 18 which is connected via shut-offvalve 19 with a waste water line 20 ending in a waste-water discharge 21and a shut-off valve 22 and line 23 connected to the drainage chamber 2Now the cooking chamber 1 and the drainage chamber 2 are approximatelyat the same pressure level. After the closure of the shut-off valve 22,one can open the flap 17 and the cooked farinaceous products falltogether with the remaining cooking water into the drainage chamber 2.

A sieve 24 provided in the floor zone of the drainage chamber 2 formsthe passage to line 23. After closing the shut-off valve 22 and openingthe shut-off valve 25, the waste-water pump 26 ensures the drainage ofthe farinaceous products present in the drainage chamber 2. The sieve 24ensures that the farinaceous products do not leave the drainage chamber2. At the same time any overpressure present in the drainage chamber isreduced. A line 27 is used for this purpose which is connected to thefresh water line 6 by means of a shut-off valve 28 and is provided inthe vicinity of its aperture into the drainage chamber 2 with aventilation valve 29. Heat steam reaches from the drainage chamber 2through a pre-heating line 30 to the storage container 8 andadditionally heats the fresh water which will be heated later on by theheating rods 14. The pre-heating line 30 ends in the water line 20 andthus in the waste-water discharge 21. Once the farinaceous products havebeen separated from the cooking water, the readily prepared portion offarinaceous products can be served by means of the linearly displaceableflap 4 onto a plate or the like disposed below the drainage chamber 2.

The cross section of the cooking chamber 1 expands downwardly in aconical way. In this way any clinging of the cooked farinaceous productsis prevented in this zone. In order to clean the drainage chamber 2,fresh water is conducted via line 6 into the drainage chamber 2 byopening the shut-off valve 28 after the serving of the farinaceousproducts and the renewed closure of flap 4. After the filling of thedrainage chamber 2 and the closure of the shut-off valve 28, theshut-off valve 25 is opened and the pump 26 is activated, so that thewaste water reaches the waste-water discharge 21 through the sieve 24 byway of the waste-water line 20 until the drainage chamber 2 iscompletely emptied.

The disadvantage in this known apparatus is that the guide means of thelinearly displaceable flaps 3 and 4 must be arranged in such a way thatthe direction of displacement must be changed transversally to the inletand outlet direction of the cooking chamber or the drainage chamber by90° so as to achieve the perpendicular closing direction. This is highlycomplicated with respect to the guide means and additionally requires avery high contact pressure of the flap in order to ensure the tightnessof the respective chamber during the occurring high pressures. Inaddition to the linear drive it is necessary to provide aperpendicularly acting closing force in order to achieve this objective.

From U.S. Pat. No. 3,928,045 an apparatus for the discontinuouspreparation of noodles is known, with noodles that have already beenreadily cooked being provided in a refrigerated spiral storage means inindividual containers, which noodles are then supplied on request of anoperator to a heating device which will heat the already cooked, butrefrigerated noodles. In this known apparatus the aforementionedproblems during the cooking and draining do not occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is therefore based on the object of arranging and furtherdeveloping the aforementioned apparatus, which is described above incloser detail, for the discontinuous preparation of farinaceous productsin such a way that the constructional requirements of the entireapparatus and the flap valves in particular are reduced withoutencountering any leakages or impairments during the operation.

This object is achieved in such a way that the linearly movable flapsare guided in lateral guide rails which are each provided with a recesswhose ends are each provided with a flat bend-off and that for closingthe chambers the flaps in the inlet zone of the cooking chamber and theoutlet zone of the drainage chamber are pressed onto the respectiveopenings of the respective chambers at a flat angle (α) formed by thetwo directions of the recess. This type of construction ensures reliablythat the apparatus in accordance with the invention can be designed in acompact size. This is of particular importance for operation withautomatic machines. Moreover, only a few constructional elements arerequired for the flap closures.

The invention is thus based on the surprising finding that any closureof the flaps perpendicularly to the opening plane of the respectivechamber is not required at all, because even a flap moved obliquelytowards the opening plane can ensure the desired tightness withoutdamaging or even destroying any existing packing elements.

Moreover, the registered documents of the German utility model G 93 17939.1 show a portioning apparatus for the apparatus, for thediscontinuous preparation of farinaceous products in which apredetermined quantity of farinaceous products has to be portioned firstfrom a storage container for farinaceous products and thereafter issupplied to the cooking chamber. For the purpose of supplying theproducts, the horizontally disposed farinaceous products is pivoted by90° so as to be supplied to the cooking chamber. It is quickly clearthat, on the one hand, during the portioning and, on the other hand,during the pivoting individual noodles can be damaged or destroyed, sothat further problems during the cooking process may occur. Moreover,the constructional requirements for the portioning and the supply of thefarinaceous products are very high in the known apparatus.

Moreover, it is desirable that in the apparatus in accordance with theinvention a reliable portioning apparatus is provided, which is easilyconstructed and ensures a secure supply of the raw farinaceous productsto the cooking chamber without any damage or destruction occurring toindividual noodles.

This is achieved in such a way that the portioning apparatus is providedwith a plurality of perpendicular chambers which are arranged behind oneanother and can be moved over the inlet opening of the cooking chamber.In this way the mechanical portioning can be omitted and a "metering" ofthe portions can be made by way of the chamber size or the fillingquantity. As in the portioning apparatus in accordance with theinvention, there is no pivoting of the portioned quantity of rawfarinaceous products, it is possible to provide an immediate charging ofthe cooking chamber without reversing the direction of the farinaceousproducts.

In a further embodiment of the invention the flat angle for closing theflaps is in a range of between 0° and 55°, preferably between 20° and40°. As a result of the used flat angle, it is ensured that a relativelylarge linear movement of the flap is converted into a respectively highcontact pressure. This leads to the result that even at a relatively lowdrive output there will be an reliable closure of the chamber which issufficient to control the high pressures occurring during the cookingprocess.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the surface of the flapsand/or of the opening zones of the chambers and/or of the guide railsconsists of a hardened material. In this way it is possible to minimizethe wear and tear of these zones which are subject to increasedmechanical stress in order to increase the service life of the apparatusand keep the amount of maintenance and replacement parts very low.

In a further embodiment of the invention the elements of the apparatuswhich come into contact with the farinaceous products aresurface-finished and/or surface-coated. Accordingly, components madefrom aluminium can be anodized. For example, it can be achieved reliablyby way of a Teflon® coating that after the output of the readilyprepared farinaceous products no residual farinaceous products remain inthe interior of the apparatus.

A further doctrine of the invention provides that the control of theflap arranged between the cooking chamber and the drainage chamberoccurs outside of the drainage chamber and that said flap is controlledby way of at least one extension of the rotational axle through thecasing of the drainage chamber. As opposed to the apparatus pursuant tothe registered documents of the German utility model G 93 17 939.1, theentire adjusting mechanism of the flap, which is arranged in theinterior of the drainage chamber, is removed in this way from thedrainage chamber, so that it is not possible for that any residualfarinaceous products to cling to the control members of the flap.

Preferably, the rotational axle of the flap is extended on at least oneside of the flap for its control and is controlled through a respectivebore in the casing of the drainage chamber by way of a gear which isarranged outside of the casing. In a further embodiment of the inventionthe control occurs by way of a lever whose end is connected with alinear drive in such a way that the drive covers a large path shortlybefore the closing and the flap thus only performs a very small pivotingmovement. It is however also possible, albeit technically more complex,to guide the rotational axle on either side out of the casing of thedrainage chamber and to control it with two different levers.

For the purpose of improved sealing the flaps and/or the opening zonesof the chambers can be provided with packing elements which in apreferred further embodiment of the invention are arranged in such a waythat each opening zone of the chambers is encompassed by a packingelement extending in manner corresponding to the shape of the opening.It is particularly favorable if the openings are provided with acircular cross section and that O-rings are provided as packingelements. The desired tightness can be achieved with this embodiment ofthe invention, whereby the used O-rings can be exchanged without anymajor effort for maintenance purposes.

The apparatus in accordance with the invention is characterized withrespect to its portioning apparatus in such a way that everyperpendicularly arranged chamber is provided for receiving a portionedquantity of farinaceous products. A drum magazine which can be drivenstepwise and in which the chambers are arranged circularly behind oneanother can be provided as a portioning apparatus.

In a further embodiment of the invention the perpendicularly arrangedchambers consist of hollow cylinders. These hollow cylinders favorablyconsist of a transparent material such as glass or plastic so as tofulfill the hygienic requirements and to display the current fillinglevel of the entire apparatus, i,e. to show the number of the chambersthat are still full.

It is also possible in accordance with the invention that the chambersare arranged in a radial clearance chamber which is formed by twoconcentrically arranged hollow cylinders. A number of perpendicularbridges which correspond to the number of chambers and are presentbetween the hollow cylinders are provided to separate the individualchambers. This arrangement of a drum magazine can be manufacturedparticularly inexpensively and allows in addition to create chambers ofdifferent sizes by differently distanced bridges so as to provide theapparatus with varying quantities of farinaceous products. Accordingly,small and large portions of raw farinaceous products can be stored inthe drum magazine so as to prepare a respective quantity of farinaceousproducts as is desired by the operator of the apparatus.

In accordance with the invention, the perpendicularly arranged chambersare open on the bottom and can be moved at a small distance from asliding surface. This reliably ensures that during the rotationalmovement of the perpendicular chambers there will be a reliable"closure" of the chamber floor without requiring any further mechanismsfor this purpose. It is particularly favorable if the perpendicularchambers are also open at the top and can be closed with a single commonlid. In this way the refilling of the portioning apparatus in accordancewith the invention can be performed very easily, because only one singlelid has to be removed so as to fill a plurality of chambers with the rawfarinaceous products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is now explained in closer detail by reference to adrawing merely showing a preferred embodiment, wherein

FIG. 1 shows a shut-off valve of the apparatus in accordance with theinvention in a top view;

FIG. 1A shows a side elevation of one of the guide rails of theinvention of FIG. 1, rotated ninety degrees.

FIG. 2 shows the cooking chamber and a part of the drainage chamber ofthe apparatus in accordance with the invention in a vertical sectionalview;

FIG. 3 shows the cooking chamber of the apparatus in accordance with theinvention along the line III--III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows the flap arranged between the cooking chamber and thedrainage chamber in a first embodiment;

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the flap pursuant to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the flap pursuant to FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 shows the mode of operation of a known apparatus for thediscontinuous preparation of portioned farinaceous products in aschematic representation;

FIG. 8 shows the portioning apparatus in accordance with the inventionin a schematic top view and

FIG. 9 shows the portioning apparatus in accordance with the inventionin a cross-sectional schematic view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown, the flaps 3 and 4 are arranged nearly identically, the mode ofoperation shall be explained with respect to FIG. 1 only with referenceto the example of flap 3. The cooking chamber 1 is represented onlyschematically and partly broken open. The guidance of the linearlymovable flap 3 is effected by means of guide rails 31 which containrecesses 32. The ends of said recesses terminate in an angular region32A angled towards the cooking chamber so that when closing the cookingchamber 1 in accordance with the invention the flap 3 can be pressed inthe inlet zone 1E of the cooking chamber 1 at a flat angle α onto therespective opening of the cooking chamber 1.

To allow the better representation of the mode of operation of the guiderails 31, the upper area of FIG. 1 shows the guide rail 31 with therecess 32 and the flat angle α in a side view again.

In accordance with the invention the angle α for closing the chambers 1,2 is in the range of between 0° and 55°, preferably in the range ofbetween 20° and 40°. In the shown embodiment the angle α is approx. 30°.

FIG. 1 demonstrates that the closure of the cooking chamber 1 ispossible with a small number of components. These include two guiderails 31, at the end of which there is each attached a pillow block 33for holding a motor 34 which is preferably arranged as a linear drive.The motor 34 moves the flap 3 by means of a spindle or a rod 35 whoseend is attached to the flap 3 by means of an axle 36. The axle 36 isused in addition for the lateral guidance of the flap 3 in the guiderails 31. For this purpose needle roller bearings 37 are arranged at theends of the axle 36, the size of which corresponds to the slot width ofthe recess 32. As a result of the angular region 32A of the recess 32,the flap 3 is pressed onto the opening of the cooking chamber 1 under aflat angle α at the end of the closing movement without any reversal ofdirection being necessary. Any superimposition of drives is thereforeomitted in accordance with the invention. It is understood that thecontact pressure is the larger during the closure the flatter the angleα is formed.

FIGS. 2 to 6 show that the control of the flap 17 arranged between thecooking chamber 1 and the drainage chamber 2 occurs outside of thedrainage chamber 2 and that said flap 17 is controlled by way of atleast one extension of the rotational axle 38 through the casing of thedrainage chamber 2. The schematic representation in FIG. 2 shows thearrangement of the flap 17 in a vertical sectional view.

FIG. 3 shows the control of the flap 17 by means of the rotational axle38 in even closer detail, In accordance with the invention therotational axle 38 of the flap 17 is controlled by way of a lever whoseend is connected with a linear drive in such a way that the drive coversa large path shortly before the closure and the flap only performs avery small pivoting movement during this process. As a result of thistransmission, the required force for the closure can be produced withease. The angle between the plane of the flap 17 and the plane of thelever does not play any role, as is shown in FIGS. 4 to 6.

A motor 40 with a spindle 41 is provided in FIG. 4 for the drive of thelever 39, which spindle is provided at its end with a pressure element42. The spindle 41 is extended to close the flap 17 until the pressureelement 42 charges the lever 39 with pressure in the closing position ofthe flap 17. In the shown embodiment, which accordingly is thuspreferred, the lever 39 is formed at its end in such a way that thepressure element 42 can cover a large path at a flat angle between theinclined end of the lever 39 and a stop 43 so as to exercise therequired closing force on the flap 17. FIG. 4 shows in a dot-dash linethe position when the flap 17 is opened and the lever 39 is in therespective upwardly pivoted position. For the purpose of opening thecooking chamber 1, the flap 17 can open by pressure or gravity or by anyother suitable mechanical solution such as a spring, for example.

FIGS. 5 and 6 correspond substantially to the construction according toFIG. 4. The only changes are those to the planes of the levers 39' and39" shown there and also the direction of the linear drive. Theseexamples demonstrates that the angle between the flap 17 and the levers39', 39" can be chosen at will. In particular, the lever for closing theflap can also be arranged in the plane of the flap itself.

FIGS. 8 and 9 schematically show the portioning apparatus in accordancewith the invention. The top view, pursuant to FIG. 8, shows that theportioning apparatus is provided with a plurality of perpendicularlyarranged chambers 44, which can be moved via the inlet opening 1E of thecooking chamber 1, which is only shown schematically. Each chamber 44 isprovided to receive a portioned quantity of farinaceous products. FIG. 8shows particularly clearly that a drum magazine 45 is provided asportioning apparatus which can be driven stepwise and in which thechambers 44 are arranged circularly behind one another with the samedistance from the central point M.

In the shown and thus preferred embodiment, the chambers 44 consist ofhollow cylinders. It is also possible that the chambers are arranged ina radial clearance chamber formed by two concentric hollow cylinders. Anumber of perpendicular bridges which correspond to the number ofchambers and are present between the hollow cylinders are provided toseparate the individual chambers.

The function of the drum magazine 45 is shown schematically in FIG. 9.It can be seen at first that the chambers 44 are open at the bottom andcan be moved at a small distance from a sliding surface 46. FIG. 9 showsthe distance between the chamber 44 and the sliding surface 46 withexaggeration. The drive of the drum magazine 45 favorably occurs by wayof a servomotor 47 which drives in a stepwise manner a driving chuck 48with recesses 49 which correspond to the number of the chambers 44.

Finally, the individual perpendicular chambers 44 are also open at thetop in the portioning apparatus and can be closed with a single commonlid 50. The refilling of the portioning apparatus is thus veryuser-friendly, because merely the closed lid 50 has to be removed forrefilling, which after the refilling of the chamber 44 can be placedback on the drum magazine 45, and thus constitutes both protection forthe function of as well as a hygienic cover for the chambers 44.

What I claim is:
 1. An apparatus for the discontinuous preparation offarinaceous products with a portioning apparatus for receivingfarinaceous products, a cooking chamber (1) and a drainage chamber (2),with inlet zone (1E, 2E) and outlet zone of the cooking chamber (1) andthe drainage chamber (2) each being closeable by valves which arearranged as flaps (3, 4, 17), with a single flap (17) which is rotatableabout rotational axle (38) being provided between the cooking chamber(1) and the drainage chamber (2), and with flaps (3, 4) in the inletzone of the cooking chamber (1) and in the outlet zone of the drainagechamber (2) being movable transversally to the inlet zone or the outletzone, characterized in that the linearly movable flaps (3, 4) are guidedin lateral guide rails (31) which are each provided with a recess (32)whose ends terminate in an angular region (32A) angled towards thecooking chamber (1) and that for closing the chambers (1, 2) the flaps(3, 4) in the inlet zone (1E) of the cooking chamber (1) and the outletzone (2A) of the drainage chamber (2) are pressed onto the respectiveopenings of the respective chambers (1, 2) at a flat angle (α) formed bythe two directions of the recess (32).
 2. An apparatus as claimed inclaim 1, characterized in that the angle (α) for closing the chambers(1, 2) lies in the range between 0° and 55°.
 3. An apparatus as claimedin claim 1, characterized in that the angle (α) for closing the chambers(1, 2) lies in the range between 20° and 40°.
 4. An apparatus as claimedin claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the surfaces of theflaps (3, 4, 17), of the opening if the chambers (1, 2) and of the guiderail (31) consists of hardened material.
 5. An apparatus as claimed inclaim 1 characterized in that the elements of the apparatus which comeinto contact with the farinaceous products are at least one ofsurface-finished and surface-coated.
 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim1, characterized in that the control of the flap (17) arranged betweenthe cooking chamber (1) and the drainage chamber (2) is made outside ofthe drainage chamber (2) and that said flap (17) is controlled by way ofat least one extension of the rotational axle (38) through the casing ofthe drainage chamber (2).
 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6,characterized in that the rotational axle (39) of the flap is controlledby way of a lever (39, 39', 39") whose end is connected with a lineardrive in such a way that the drive covers a large path shortly beforethe closure and the flap (17) only performs a very small pivotingmovement during this process.
 8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1characterized in that for the purpose of improved sealing at least oneof the flaps (3,4,17) and the opening areas of the chambers (1,2 ) areprovided with packing elements.
 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8,characterized in that each opening area of the chambers is encompassedby a packing element extending according to the shape of the opening.10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that theopenings are provided with a circular cross section and that O-rings areprovided as packing elements.
 11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the portioning apparatus comprises a plurality ofperpendicular chambers (44) which are arranged behind one another andare movable over the inlet opening (1E) of the cooking chamber (1). 12.An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that each chamber(44) is provided for receiving a portioned quantity of farinaceousproducts.
 13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, characterized in thata drum magazine (45) which can be driven stepwise and where the chambers(44) are arranged circularly behind one another is provided asportioning apparatus.
 14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11,characterized in that the chambers (44) consist of hollow cylinders. 15.An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the chambersare arranged in a radial clearance chamber formed by two concentrichollow cylinders, with a number of perpendicular bridges whichcorrespond to the number of chambers and are arranged between the hollowcylinders being provided to separate the individual chambers.
 16. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the chambers(44) are open at the bottom and can be moved at a small distance to asliding surface (46).
 17. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11,characterized in that the perpendicular chambers (44) are open at thetop and can be closed with a single common lid (50).